Stan Chisholm, commonly known as 18&Counting, is a modern day renaissance man. The south St. Louis native is a painter, sculptor, rapper, producer, and teacher.
“You gotta have creative confidence,” said artist Stan Chisholm.
Teatopia in the Cherokee neighborhood is a perfect setup to talk with any artist, and it is one of his favorite hangouts. There is wall-to-wall art of local artists, and tunes of Amy Winehouse played in the background adding a mellow chill vibe as Chisholm discussed where 18&Counting has been and where he is headed.
Chisholm has five albums, with his first “Birds At This Hour” comprising a collection of songs that are raw and unpolished. His goal is to take hip-hop to another realm. He has collaborated with local song artists Eric Donte, Vancouver China, and Chris Burks.
The Multi-disciplinary artist doesn’t focus on one art form. He’s a free spirit waiting for the universe to guide him on his next venture.
According to Chisholm, that could be anywhere doing anything.
Chisholm created 18&Counting in middle school. The Rockwood School District student was part of the voluntary transfer program, which granted him access to education and experiences that he might not have received in his south St. Louis community.
It was a different world for him, he made friends with all sorts of students and so he started counting the different personalities he came across. It’s something that he carried throughout middle school into high school. Once he reached 18, he decided that would be his “holding number to leave a mark but continue to count and notice the diverse people the universe is sending him.”
His interest peaked in expressing himself through art. He started to dabble in painting and rapping, songwriting, and graphic design. He pursued his goals in the arts by attending the Art Institute of Chicago. As a freshman, he explored several disciplines in the arts, but never committed to one.
“None of these things is a career path I’m pursuing. This is what I’m feeling right now, it’s where the energy is at, it’s what I’m enjoying right now,” he said.
Chisholm said has always been attracted to sketching and drawing. In high school, he began painting graffiti art, which he liked because he could be more creative with spray paint, and paint on different textures. He felt pencil and paper put a limit on how he could express himself and the story he wanted to tell through his art.
During his senior year, Chisholm decided that he would take the safe route and go to college and study to become a graphic design artist. That goal was deterred when his art teacher saw that her pupil was staying true to himself as an artist.
She urged him to not give in to his fear of failure and to always remain true to who he is. By fall of the next school year Chisholm was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago.
“I don’t think I ever had anyone so directly define a career path for me,” said Chisholm.
He says he is grateful for her advice because it gave him the freedom to study art but also explore other artistic outlets like photography. While in college he followed the work of Justin Tony Tino, and Cababi, and he was so proud to see them operate on a national level and he knew he was taking the right path.
He soon began sculpting, actually what he calls “relief sculpting.”
He experimented with insulation foam to create his unique pieces, saying “there is a sort of power in manipulating material in shapes” that he says took him to another realm. He would take lyrics from his music and create pieces from the foam that matched the lyrics of his music.
“I always knew I wanted to do that sort of thing,” said Chisholm.
“I wanted to make something that was more defined, sophisticated but still abstract art. One of his works, a sculpted piece of the Fleur De Lis for the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball, hangs in City Hall.
With so many art disciplines one would guess that he has a favorite, one that he is more passionate about. He does not place one above another, nor does he believe in comparing his different art forms.
“In some way or another they are all related to each other,” he said.
Like using his lyrics to create his sculptures or paintings, they are all a part of him. He looks at his music the same way. He doesn’t go for “the trendy stuff.”
“Yeah, it’s rap, but I’m not trying to sound like everything else,” said Chisholm.
He says it doesn’t matter the beat, or rhythm if he’s rapping over it. He says he never knows what he’s going to rap about, or the instruments he’s going to use or the beat he will follow. He just goes to the studio and lets things flow.
“It’s about deliberately trying to make sounds and textures that sound fresh to me, and not stick close to a place of familiarity for people to enjoy it,” he said.
He says making music is like putting together a puzzle, putting together assorted sounds. He’s more intrigued by styles of music that didn’t work than trends that do work.
“It’s piecing it all together and making this thing,” said Chisholm.
He’s not concerned about criticism. Naysayers have compared his style to punk rock and he says that’s OK, acknowledging that people will define his music based on their experience with music.
“One of the most important things to me as a Black man is showing possibility,” said Chisholm
He says that throughout history, Black people “have been limited.”
“It’s extremely important to demonstrate ‘limitlessness’ and to demonstrate possibilities. I’m here to encourage it,” he said.
Chisholm stands firm on the idea that art is supposed to support the bigger ideas, adding humor to his claim he says “just don’t be whack while doing it.”
He says experimentation “is a big deal when you’re trying to figure yourself out, and you have to have a lot of bad ideas before you get to the good stuff.
“You gotta have creative confidence,” Chisholm said.
His upcoming project ‘Straight To Tape’ features rap artist Chris Burks, coming out this fall.
Ashley Winters is The St. Louis American Report for America reporter.
